Richard Burton

Blowing the budget: replacing Stephen Boyd with Richard Burton and increasing Elizabeth Taylor’s salary from $1 million to $7 million contributed to Cleopatra’s $330 million cost (Pic: Allstar/20TH Century Fox)

When you watch Cleopatra now you will see enough lavish splendour to compensate for a wordy screenplay and some not very wonderful acting

The opening shot of Tamara Drewe, the forthcoming big screen adaptation of Posy Simmonds' graphic novel, is very pretty. In the background, the rolling Devon countryside; in the foreground, the rippling Luke Evans, shirtless and leaning on a shovel as he builds a hazel fence. It is a timeless sight, invoking the spirit of Thomas Hardy – Tamara Drewe is loosely modelled on Far From the Madding Crowd – and Luke Evans is perfect as Andy Cobb, the strong, silent, brooding rural type. Think Sean Bean in Lady Chatterley, or Alan Bates as Gabriel Oak: top farmer totty. He shares an on-screen kiss with Gemma Arterton and brings Posy Simmonds' illustration vividly to life. 'As soon as I saw him, I knew we had our chap,' the film's director Stephen Frears told me. 'He's so clearly a solid, decent, strong person and there aren't so many who can convey those qualities these days.'